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OFFICIAL C M M IftNI C A T I ON S 



THE WAR DEPARTMENT 



Lieut. Colonel JOHN PULFORD, 



U. S. ARMY, 



RELATING TO HIS RE-INSTATEMENT A.S A COLONEL ON THE 
RETIRED LIST. 



TOGETHKH WITH THE 






REPORT OF THE MILITARY COMMITTEES 



Senate & House of Representatives 



OF THE UNITED STATES, 



ACCOMPAN1 E D BY HILLS 




To Restore him to his former Rank, of Colonel, 
U. S. Army, Retired. 



E 514 

.5 

5th 

Copy 1 OFFICIAL COM M I! NI C AT I ON S 



THE WAR DEPARTMENT 



Lieut. Colonel JOHN PULFORD, 



U. S. ARMY, 



RELATING TO HIS RE-INSTATEMENT AS \ COLONEL ON THE 
RETIRED LIST, 



TOGETHER WITH THE 



REPORT OF THE MILITARY COMMITTEES 



Senate & House of Representatives 

OP THE UNITED STATES, 



AC : P A N I ILLS 



To Restore him to his former Rank of Colonel, 
U. S. Army, Retired. 



L 



PEEFACE. 



The object of presenting in this form the official correspon- 
dence between the War Department and myself, relating to my 
re-instatement as a Colonel on the retired list, from which rank I 
was reduced under the Act of March 3, 1875, is to lay the matter, 
with my record, semi-officially before each member of the present 
Congress, together with the facts contained in the reports of the 
respective Committees on Military Affairs of the Senate and House 
of Representatives of the XLIV Congress, which passed bills for 
my re-instatement. But the House Bill was amended in the 
Senate before its passage by that body, and in the hurry of the 
closing business of Congress was not again reached by the 
House of Representatives, and I am left without the relief 
it is manifest I am so justly entitled to, as the War Department 
has declined to submit the matter to the Attorney General for 
an authoritative opinion as to whether my "case is fully within 
the spirit and intention of the proviso of the Act of March 3, 
1875," as expressed by the Senate Military Committee, after a 
careful and most searching investigation. The House Military 
Committee, after due and rigid examination into all the circum- 
stances, also express the opinion, "That this officer should be 
" restored to his original retired rank, as a case falling within the 
" spirit if not the letter of the so-called Crawford Act." 

I regret the seeming necessity for again troubling the legisla- 
tive branch of the Government for such action as in their judg- 
ment the merits of the case would warrant. 

JOHN PULFORD, 

Lieut. -Col, U. S. Army. 

Detroit, Mich., June 30, 1877. 



COMMUNICATIONS. 



•Detroit, Mich., July 13th, 1875. 
Adjutant General, 

U. S. Army, Washington, D. C. 

Sir : I have the honor to apply to be re-instated as a Colonel 
on the retired list, as I was a Colonel in command of the Fifth 
Michigan Iflfantry Volunteers ; also in temporary command of the 
lirst line of battle of the Second Brigade, Third Division, Second 
Corps, Army of the Potomac, and engaged at the battle of Boyd- 
town Plank Road, Virginia, October 27th, 1864, when I received 
one of the six wounds which formed a part of the record of the 
Retiring Board in my case; and would ask that the testimony of 
the examining surgeons of said Board be examined, wherein I 
think they state (in answer to questions) that "either wound is 
" enough to retire him on. I think the wound in the back disables 
" him most now." 

My case seems to be an exceptive one, as I had been in per- 
manent command of a regiment for nearly a year and a half prior 
to receiving the wound, while holding the rank of Colonel, as the 
regiment had not been commanded by its Colonel for over two 
years. The officer who had been made Colonel, July 18th, 1862, 
had been wounded at the battle of Williamsburg, Va , May 5th, 
18b'2, on account of which he never rejoined the regiment for duty, 
although while absent he had been promoted to the Colonelcy, and 
held this rank over the officers who were in command of the regi- 
ment in active field service for more than two years, two oi whom 
were killed in action — Lieut.-Col. John GUluley, at Fredericksburg, 
Va., December 13th, 1862, and Lieut.-Col. E. T. Sherlock, at Chan- 
cellorsville, Va., May 3d, 1863. There was also several officers 
wounded while doing this officer's duty in command of the regi- 
ment. Among them was Major S. S. Mathews, Captain William 
Wakenshaw and myself, I having received four wounds while 
doing the Colonel's duty in command of the regiment for about a 
year and a half, one of which permanently disables both of my 
arms, by the ball having entered the right Bide of the neck, pass* 



6 
ing backward, downward and outward, knocking off part of two of 
the dorsal vertebrae and injuring the brachial plexus, which com- 
pels me to wear shoulder braces to keep the skin from the weight 
of the shoulders and arms pressing on the spinal cord, which is 
only covered by the integuments for about an inch. 

After receiving General Order, No. 33, which reduces my 
rank from a Colonel to Lieutenant-Colonel on the retired list, 
I was going to comply with existing orders, and apply through 
the War Department to Congress for a special act re-instating 
me as a Colonel on the retired list. But on receipt of Gen- 
eral Order, No. 16, and carefully examining the law, with the 
argument of Senator Logan in the Senate at the time he intro- 
duced the exception amendment to the bill which »is now the 
act approved March 3, 1875, I thought it unnecessary to go to 
Congress for relief, as it seems to have been left within the 
prerogative of the President to determine whether an officer who 
had been placed on the retired list on account of several dif- 
ferent wounds should be reduced in rank or not, according 
to the circumstances of the case ; and knowing that those in 
authority do not want to do any injustice to an officer who has 
served faithfully and efficiently, as there is a multiplicity of 
evidence in this case to show, on file in the War Department, and 
after examining the additional testimony, hereto annexed marked 
" B," I would respectfully ask if my case would not come under 
t \vt i of the excepted clauses, and keep within the intent of the 
law-making power. 

1st. Hereto annexed, marked "A," please find an extract from 
the speech of the Chairman of the Military Committee, when he 
reported the exception amendment to the original bill in the Senate, 
which will show that the intent of Congress in passing the amend- 
ment was to have it " so that it will work no hardship to any one, 
" but will be fair to all." Although, according to the letter of the 
law, it would except an officer from a reduction in rank who held 
a temporary command long enough to have lost an arm or leg, or 
had an arm or leg permanently disabled by reason of resection, 
;u id reduce me, of the same class, who held a permanent command 
for over a year, when I had my back broken and both arms perma- 
nently disabled while holding the command of the rank on which 
I had been retired. 

2d. I held the actual rank, and more than the command of 
the rank on which I was retired, when 1 received one of the five 



7 
wounds received while in permanent command of a regiment, which 
formed a part of the record of the Retiring Board in my case. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

JOHN PULFORD, 

Lieut.-Col., U. S. Army. 

Extract from the argument of the Chairman of the Military Com- 
mittee of Senate (Senator Logan), when he reported the 
exception amendment to the original bill. 

"The amendment I offer now makes exceptions of certain 
" men who have been retired. It makes an exception of a man 
" who has been retired with the rank of command if he lost an 
" arm, if he lost a leg, if he lost both eyes, or if he had served in 
"the army twenty-five years at the time of his retirement. That 
" makes an exception of all the old officers retired for wounds that 
"absolutely rendered their services useless. There are a great 
"many in the army retired on a rank which they never held, and 
" who are in as good health to-day as any of us. I submitted this 
"bill to the Secretary of War, and he wrote me the following 
" memorandum, that I will read to the Senate : 

" ' I have looked over the amendment proposed to be added 
"'to this bill, and it strikes me, if adopted, it will make the 
" 'law more satisfactory, and do away with the objections which 
"'may e^st to the present law-bill of the House of Repmscnta- 
" ' tives, No. 2093, as proposed to be amended in the Senate.' 

" I submitted the bill to him, with the amendment. He said 
"it would do away with the objections to the bill by making those 
" exceptions. For instance, a certain gentleman in the State of 
"New York, and a certain gentleman in the District of Columbia, 
"who has lost both eyes, and several men whom I could mcnt ion, 
"are in the ^class which are excepted; so that this makes the bill 
"so that it will work no hardship to any one, but will be fail to 
" all." 



"State of Michigan, 



iss 
" Wayne County." j 

"Doctor D. 0. Farrand, of Wayne County, state iA' Michigan, 

"being duly sworn, deposes and says: That he is personally 

"acquainted with Lieut.-Col. John Pulford, United States Ann v. 



8 
" who was late Colonel of the Fifth Michigan Infantry Volunteers, 
" and that he has carefully examined the said John Pulford, and 
"find that both of his arms are permanently disabled by reason of 
" a gun-shot wound received in battle. The bail having entered the 
" right side of the neck, passing backward, downward and outward, 
" carrying away a portion of the first and second d< >rsal vertebra?. 
" The wound has healed, but has left the spinal cord covered only 
" by the integument for a space of nearly an inch ; the arms being 
"permanently disabled by reason of the injury done to the brachial 
" plexus." " D. 0. FARRAND, M. D." 

" Sworn and subscribed to before me this 12th day of July, 
"A. D. 1875. "D. C. TWOMBLY, 

"Notary Public, Wayne County, Michigan? 

The above was endorsed as follows : 

"Fort Wayne, Mich., July 13th, 1875. 
" This is to certify that I have this day carefully examined 
" Lieut.-Col. John Pulford, U. S. A., and find that the within certi- 
" ficate is true and correct in every respect. 

" E. A. KOERPER, 
"Asst. Surg. U. S. A., Post Surgeon.'' 



" War Department. ^ 

"3287 A. C. P., 1875. I ,, . -,. , , ^ 7 . ^.j*. / 

•« u b. ifi|2 686." j "Adjutant Generals Office, > 

"Washington, July 21s$1875. ) 

" Lieutenant-Colonel John Pulford, 

" U. S. Army (retired), Detroit, Michigan. 

"Sir: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your communica- 
"tion of the L3th instant, in which you express the opinion that 
"under the act of March 3d, L875, or the intent, at least, of that 
" law, y<»u are entitled to be exempt from a reduction from the 
"rank of Colonel by reason of wounds, causing permanent dis- 
" ability of both arms, and other serious injuries, and also by 
" reason of having held the permanent command of a regiment for 
"a long time prior to receiving the last disabling wound. 

" Under the express terms of the law, the conditions necessary 
"to exempt an officer from its operation, are that he must either 
"have been retired on the 'actual rank' held by him when 
"wounded, or have 'been in service as a commissioned officer 
" 'for twenty-five years, or have lost an arm, or Leg, or have an arm 
"'or leg permanently disabled by reason oi resection od account of 
"'wounds, or both eyes, by reason of wounds received in battle.' 



9 
"As your case is not covered by any of tlieso conditions, n<> further 
"action can be taken by the Department under the law. 
"Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

"THOMAS M. VINCENT, 

"Asst. Adjt. General.'''' 



Under the above interpretation of the law, an officer totally 
helpless would not be excepted, unless it happened that he received 
one of the very few disabling injuries mentioned in the law. For 
instance: An officer with both arms and both legs totally disabled 
(unless it was by resection) would be reduced, and another officer 
of the same class who had an arm or leg slightly, although perma- 
nently, disabled by reason of resection, would be excepted from a 
reduction in rank and pay. This is manifestly unjust, as there 
can be no doubt that the intent of Congress was to make the 
benefits of the Retired List commensurate to the disability incurred. 
Webster says, "We must. observe the letter of the law without 
" doing violence to the reason of the law and the intents of the 
" law-giver." 



Detroit, Michigan, November 22nd, 1875. 
Adjutant General, 

U. S. Army, Washington, D. 0. 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your 
letter of the 21st of July, 1875, and in order to keep within the 
purview of General Order, No. 32, dated, War Department, Ad- 
jutant General's Office, Washington, March 15th, L873, I would 
respectfully ask permission to solicit the passage of the enclosed 
Joint Resolution, with such alterations and amendment as you 
may dictate. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

JOHN PULFORD, 
Lieut.-Col., U. S. Arm//. 



Joint Resolution explanatory of an Act entitled "An Act for the 
relief of General Samuel W. Crawford, and to fix the rank 
and pay of retired officers of the army," approved March 
Three, Eighteen Hundred and Seventy-five. 
Bo it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the 
intent and meaning of Section Two of an Act entitled, "An A :{ 



10 

for the relief of General Samuel W. Crawford, and to fix the rank 
and pay of retired officers of the army," approved March Three, 
Eighteen Hundred and Seventy-five, was to include in the excep- 
tion from its operation all retired officers of the army whose names 
were borne on the Retired List, on account of disability arising 
from wounds received in battle while holding the command of the 
rank on which they had been retired; Provided said disability is 
equal or greater than either the "loss of an arm or leg, or an arm 
"or leg permanently disabled by reason of resection on account of 
" wounds, or both eyes, by reason of wounds received in battle." 



"War Department, ) 

" - l." b! Sin-i" 8, ! " A djutant General 's Office, V 

"Washington, December 1, 1875. ) 

" Lieutenant-Colonel John Pulford, 

"U. S. Army {retired), Detroit, Michigan. 

" Sir: I have respectfully to inform you that your letter of the 
" 22nd ultimo, enclosing draught of a Joint Resolution explanatory 
" of Section 2 of the Act of March 3d, 1875, in relation to retired 
" officers, has been submitted to the Secretary of War, who thinks 
"there has been sufficient legislation on the subject. 

" Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

" E. D. TOWNSEND, 
"Adjutant General." 



Detroit, Michigan, January 13th, 1876. 
Adjutant General, 

U. S. Army, Washington, D. C. 
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your 
letter of December 1st, 1875, and as it is susceptible of meaning 
that "there has been sufficient legislation on the subject" to cover 
my case as claimed in my letter of July 13th, 1875, and also be- 
lieving that the Secretary of War would not deprive me of my 
right of petition, had he not intended to re-instate me, I would 
therefore respectfully renew my application of July 13, 1875, to 
be re-instated as a Colonel on the retired list. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

JOHN PULFORD, 
Lieut. -Col. U. S. Army. 



11 

"•-31 a c p 1870 "War Department, } 

"L. b. 26, p. go."' I "Adjutant General* s Office, > 

" Washington, January 28, 1876. ) 

" Lieutenant-Colonel John Pulford, 

"U. S. Army {retired), Detroit, Michigan. 

"Sir: Referring to your letter of the 13th instant, renewing 
"application to be restored to the rank of Colonel, based on your 
"interpretation of the letter from this office of December L, 1875, 
"you are respectfully informed that your supposition as to the law 
" covering your case is not correct, and the letter of December 1 
" was not intended to give you that impression. The draught of 
"resolution accompanying your letter of November 22d, 1875, 
" with a copy of the letter last referred to, has been transmitted 
"to the House of Representatives by the Secretary of War. 
"Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

" E. D. TOWNSEND, 
"Adjutant General.'''' 



Detroit, Michigan, April 22, 1876. 
Adjutant General, 

U. S. Army, Washington, D. 0. 
Sir : Under the decision of the Attorney General in the case of 
Brig.-General J. 13. Kiddoo, U. S. Army, I have the honor to renew 
my application of July 13th, 1875, to be re-instated as a Colonel 
on the retired list. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

JOHN PULFORD, 
Lieut.-Col. U. S. Army. 



"2093, A. C. P., 1876." 

" War Department, ~) 
"Adjutant-GeneraVs Oj/iec, > 
"Washington, April 27, 1S7G. ) 
"Lieutenant-Colonel John Pulford, 

U. S. Army (retired), Detroit, Michigan : 

"Sir: Referring to your request of the - 2d instant, to be 
"restored to the rank of Colonel on the retired list, under the 
"opinion of the Attorney-General in the cast' of General J. 13. 
•'Kiddoo, U.S. Army, you are respectfully informed that the 
"opinion mentioned is not applicable to nor does it change the 
" status of your case. 

" Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

"E. D. TO WIN SEND, 
U A dj ut ant-General.'''' 



12 

Now, the following will show that General Kiddoo's disability 
arises from an injury to the spine, and comes no nearer complying 
with the letter of the law than Colonel Pulford's case does, as the 
latter's disability is from an injury to the spine, which involves the 
permanent disability of both arms, and is greater than that which 
excepts certain officers of the same class from a reduction under 
the letter of the law which reduced them both : 

"Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion. 
"Part Second, Surgical Volume, Chap. VII., Sec. 1. {Official) 
"Injuries of the Pelvis. Page 234. Case 687. 

" Colonel Joseph B. Kiddoo, 22d Colored Troops, aged thirty 
'.'years, was wounded in an engagement before Richmond, October 
"27th, 1864. Surgeon Charles G. G. Merrill, Twenty-Second Col- 
"ored Troops, recorded the injury as a 'lacerated wound of the 
" 'back by a Minnie ball.' On October 29th, this officer was sent 
"to Chesapeake Hospital, near Fort Monroe. Assistant Surgeon 
" E. McClellan reported the injury as a ' Shot wound in the lombar 
" 'region, involving the spine.' The particulars of the case are not 
"found on the hospital registers or case books. On January 11, 
" 1 865, Colonel Kiddoo was transferred from the hospital, and was 
" treated in quarters at Washington. On September 4th he was 
"brevetted a Major-General of Volunteers. On July 28, 1866, he 
"was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel of the Forty-Third In- 
"fantry. On December 15, 1870, he was retired from active 
"service, with the full rank of Brigadier-General, U. S. A. In 
"Washington this officer was attended by Assistant-Surgeon Not- 
" son, U. S. A., and it is believed that a memorandum of the facts 
" of the case was furnished by him for the files of the Surgeon 
" General's Office, but no record of this paper has been found. In 
' : the autumn of 1866,- Assistant Surgeons Thompson and Billings 
" saw the case, in consultation with Dr. Notson, and an operation 
"was determined on, for the removal of dead bone or other 
" sources of irritation. Dr. Billings has kindly furnished the fol- 
" lowing minute of his recollection of the circumstances : ' When 
"'seen by Drs. Thompson, Notson and myself,' Dr. Billings writes, 
" ' there was a fistulous opening near the anterior superior spine of 
"'the left ilium, from which half an ounce to an ounce of pus 
'"discharged daily. Exercise produced pains in the sacro-iliac 
" 'junction, with tendency to cramp in the posterior muscles of the 
"'left thigh. A canal, with bony walls, about the size of a goose- 



13 

"'quill, was found to lead from the opening downward, backward 
"'and inward, the probe passing freely for about eight inches. 
"'The outer opening was enlarged by incision, and the edge of the 
'"bony canal was cut away with the bone gouge-forceps. Several 
"'scales of dead bone were removed from the canal, and its walls 
"'were scraped out with a raspatary. It was then thoroughly sy- 
" 'ringed out, and the patient was directed to lie on his abdomen as 
'"much as possible for a lew days, to keep the opening at the lowest 
'"point. Subsequent treatment consisted in syringing the canal 
'"with a very dilute solution of carbolic acid. The wound entirely 
'"closed, and gave him no trouble for two or three years. I beli< ve 
'" it has since opened once or twice.' Notwithstanding the occa- 
sional inconvenience arising from his wound, it is gratifying to 
"know that General Kiddoo, in 1873, nearly ten years after the 
"reception of his injuries, enjoys tolerable health, and is enabled 
" to engage in laborious professional avocations." 



" Detroit, Mich, May 14, 1877. 
"Adjutant General, 

"U. S. Army, Washington, D. C. 
" Sir: I have the honor to forward, herewith enclosed, copies 
of all official correspondence relative to my re-instatement as a 
Colonel on the retired list, together with the report of the House 
Military Committee ; also, report of the Committee on Military 
Affairs of the Senate, accompanied by law bills for my re-instate- 
ment. And should you (after examining these papers) still adhere 
to your former decision, may I ask that you submit these papers 
to the Attorney General, for an opinion as to whether I am enti- 
tled to be exempt from a reduction from the rank of Colonel 
(retired) under the Act of March 3, 1875. I ask this, as you will 
readily see, that both Houses of Congress, in adopting the report 
of their respective Committees on Military Affairs, in the passage 
of a bill for my re-instatement, have virtually decided that my 
"case is fully embraced in the spirit aud object of the proviso of 
said act." 

" Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

"JOHN PULKORD, 
"Lieutenant-Colonel, United States Army" 



14 

" Headquarters of the Army, } 
"Adjutant GeneraFs Office, > 
"Washington, May 13, 1*77. ) 
" I jkitrn ant- Colonel John Pulford, 

"U. S. Arm;/, retired, Detroit, Michigan. 
" Sir: I have rt spectfully to inform you that your communi- 
" cation of May 14, 1877, has been submitted to the Secretary of 
"War, who adheres to the previous decisions of the War Depart- 
" incut in your case, and is constrained to decline placing the case 
" before the Attorney-General. 

" In view particularly of the bills reported to Congress for 
"your relief, tlie Secretary deems it fitting that further action be 
"rested with that body. 

" Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

" ti. D. TOWNSEND, 

"Adjutant Genera'." 1 



[The following is substituted on account of an error in the Index of the Army 

Register for !*77. which refers any person looking \'<>i- information in 

relation to Col Pulfohd'b services to u page in the Register 

where his name does not appear 1 



MILITARY RECORD 



John Pulford organized a company in conjunction with .Mr. 
E. T. Sherlock, at Detroit, Mich., April 20th, 1861 ; First Lieuten- 
ant Fifth Michigan Infantry Volunteers Juno 19th, 1861; mustered 
into U. S. service August 28th, 18G1 ; at Fort Wayne, Mich., under 
General A. S. Williams, to September 11th, 1S61 ; and in active 
field service with the army of the Potomac from September 23d, 
1861 ; engaged in the Peninsular campaign, siege of Yorktown, 
commanding company at Willliamsburg, Va.; Captain Fifth Mich. 
Infantry, May 15, '62, commanding Co. A at Fair Oaks, the Seven 
Days' battle before Richmond, including Peach Orchard, Glendale, 
and Malvern Hill, Va ; severely wounded by a ricochet cannon 
ball, which fractured the temporal bone, broke the lower jaw and 
collar bones; prisoner at Richmond to July 18th. 1862; in hos- 
pital at Baltimore, Md., to September 12th, 1862 ; commanding 
company C, Fifth Michigan Infantry, and engaged with it at 
Fredericksburg, Va ; Major Fifth Michigan Infantry January 
1st, 1863; on duty with the regiment, and engaged in the action 
at the Cedars and the night charge near Chaucellorsville, Va.; also 
at the battle of Chaucellorsville, assuming command of the 
regiment after Lieutenant Colonel Sherlock was killed. May 3d, 
1863, slight wound across the abdomen, but did not leave the field 
or command; Lieutenant-Colonel Fifth Michigan Infantry May 
3d, 1863, commanding regiment in the field, and at Gettysburg, 
(wounded in right hand slight and thigh severely;) also at Wapping 
Heights. August 16th, 1863, went in command o\' the regiment 
to New York City, as a guard against a threatened resistance to 
the draft, and from there to Troy, N. Y., for the same purpose, 
and back to the Army of the Potomac September L8th, L863; 
commanded it through the actions at Auburn Heights, Kelly's 
Ford, Locust Grove, Mute Run, and in the field to December 29th, 
1863; also to Detroit, Mich., on veteran furlough, and bai k to the 
Army of the Potomac February 19th, 1864. Engaged in command 
of it in all the actions and movements ^i' the Army of the Poto- 
mac, including the Wilderness, Va,: severely wounded— back 
broken aud both arms partially disabled, from an injury to 



16 
the brachial plexus. Colonel Fifth Michigan Infantry July 12th, 

1804, commanding the regiment in the siege of Petersburg from 
June 27th to April 3d, 1805, a great part of the time in command 
of Fort Davis, and had as a garrison the Fifth Michigan Infantry, 
First Regiment of U. S. Sharpshooters, One Hundred and Fifth 
Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and a New York battery. Gen- 
eral Officer of the Day for the Second Corps at and during the 
engagement at Deep Bottom, Va.; engaged at Petersburg, July 
30th, 1804; commanding Second Brigade, Third Division, Second 
< lorps at Strawberry Plains, also Birney's Division of the Tenth 
Corps for a short time, and the Fifth Michigan Infantry at Poplar 
Springs' Church, also the first line of battle of the Second Brigade, 
Third Division, Second Corps at Boydtown Plank Road, October 
27th, 1804, wounded in the right knee ; Hatcher's Run, March 
25th, 1805, commanding Fifth Michigan Iufantry and First Massa- 
chusetts Heavy Artillery Regiment at Boydtown Plank Road, also 
at the capture of Petersburg, and the Fifth Michigan Infantry 
engaged at Sailor's Creek and New Store, Va. General Officer of 
the Day for the Third Divisiou, Second Corps, at the surrender of 
the insurgent armies at Appomatox Court House, April 9th, 1805. 
June 15th, 1805, appointed by the President Brigadier General U. S. 
Volunteers, by Brevet, to rank as such from the 30th day of March, 

1805, for gallantry in action and efficiency in the line of duty. 
After the grand review of the armies of the United States at 
Washington, commanded the Fifth Michigan Infantry and several 
other Western regiments at Louisville, Ky., and the First Brigade, 
Provisional Division, Army of the Tennessee, at Jeffersonville, 
Iud., to July 0th, 1805. The regiment having been mustered out 
July 5th, took it home to Detroit, Michigan, where it was dis- 
banded July 17th, 1805. 

Appointed Second Lieutenant Nineteenth United States In- 
fantry February 23d, 1800, commanding Company G, Third Bat- 
talliou, Nineteenth United States Infantry, from April 28th, 1800, 
at Newport Barracks, Ky., en route to and at Little Rock, Ark., 
to August 3d, 1800. First Lieutenant Nineteenth U. S. Infantry 
at this post, and in command of the post of Devall's Bluff, Ark., 
and Company G, Third Battallion, en route to and at Fort Leav- 
ei i worth, Kansas, to November 28th, 1800. First Lieutenant 
Thirty-seventh United States Infantry September 21st, 1800. 
Stationed at this post to March 24th, L867,and engaged in General 
llaurock\s expedition across the plains against hostile Indians to 



17 

April 27th, 1867, en route to, stationed at, and acting Adjutant 
of the post at Fort Lyon, Kansas, to May 28th, 1867, commanding 
detachment of troops guarding U. S. mail route against the 
Indians, from Fort Aubrey to Fort Lyon, Kansas, and with com- 
pany en route to Fort Garland, C. T., to November 1st, 1867. 

A. A. Quartermaster and Assistant Commissary of Subsist- 
ence, also acting disbursing officer to May 31, 1869. Awaiting 
orders and on duty in Mississippi to December 13, 1869. On 
recruiting duty at Newport Barracks, Ky., and to Atlanta, Ga., 
and back; also awaiting orders to December 15th, 1870. Retired 
on the rank of Colonel, U. S. Army, under Section 32 of the Act 
approved July 2Sth, 1866, on a record of six wounds received in 
action. 

Reduced to Lieutenant Colonel (retired) under the Act of 
March 3d, 1875, by General Order No. 33, War Department, Ad- 
jutant General's Office, Washington, March 23d, 1875. 

Number of Engagements Participated in, with Rank and 
Command held at the time. 

First Lieutenant, on duty with the company 1 

First Lieutenant, commanding company 1 

Captain, commanding company 5 

Major, and Acting Lieutenant-Colonel of Regiment 2 

Lieutenant-Colonel, commanding regiment 12 

Colonel, commanding part of a brigade 2 

Colonel, commanding a brigade 2 

Total number of engagements 25 

Number of Wounds Received in Action, with Command held 

at the time. 

Captain, Commanding company 1 

Lieutenant-Colonel, commanding regiment 4 

Colonel, commanding part of a brigade 1 

Total number of wounds received in action 6 

Length of service up to October 16, 1877, fifteen and a half years. 



44th Congress, ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, f Ex. Doc. 
1st Sessio?i. j ) No. 98. 

RETIRED OFFICERS OF THE ARMY. 



LETTER 

FROM 



THE SECRETARY OF WAR, 



TRANSMITTING 



Draught of joint resolution by Lieut.-Col. John Pulford (retired,) 
relative to rank and pay of retired officers of the Army. 



January 25, 1876. — Referred to the Committee on Military Affairs ami ordered 

to be printed. 



War Department, 

Washington City, January 21, IS7i>. 

The Secretary of War lias the honor to transmit to the House 

of Representatives a draught of a joint resolution sent to this 

Department by Lieut.-Col. John Pulford, United States Army 

(retired), together with a copy of that officer's letter of transmittal. 

WM. W. BELKNAP, 
Secretary of War. 



[For letter of transmittal above referred to, see page 9 of this 

pamphlet.] 

Joint Resolution explanatory of an Act entitled "An Act for the 
relief of General Samuel W. Crawford, and to fix the rank 
and pay of retired officers of the army,'''' approved March 
Three, Eighteen Hundred and Seventy five. 

Be it resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the 
intent and meaning of Section Two of an Act entitled, "Ad Act 
for the relief of General Samuel W. Crawford, and to fix the rank 



20 
and pay of retired officers of the army," approved March Three, 
Eighteen Hundred and Seventy-five, was to include in the excep- 
tion from its operation all retired officers of the army whose names 
were borne on the Retired List, on account of disability arising 
from wounds received in battle while holding the command of the 
rank on which they had been retired; Provided said disability is 
equal or greater than either the "loss of an arm or leg, or an arm 
"or leg permanently disabled by reason of resection on account of 
" wounds, or both eyes, by reason of wounds received in battle." 

True copy: THOMAS M. VINCENT, 

Assistant Adjutant General. 



44th Congress, ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. C Report 
1st Session. f 1 No. 504 



JOHN PULFORD. 



May 20, 1876.— Committed to a Committee of the Whole House and ordered to 

be printed. 



Mr. Alpheus S. Williams, from the Committee on Military Affairs, 
by unanimous consent, submitted the following 

REPORT: 

[To accompany bill H. R. 3483.] 

The Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was referred Ex. Doc. Nitt 98, inclosing a com- 
munication of Lieut.-Col. John Pulford, United States Army, retired, relative to the 
construction of section 2 of "An Act for the relief of General Samuel W. Crawford, 
and to jix the rank and pay of retired officers of the Army, 1 ' approved March 3, 1875, 
having considered the same, respectfully submit the following report : 

That section 2, above referred to, would have reduced the rank of a large 
number of retired officers but for the proviso of the section, which excepted from 
reduction in rank those officers who had been in service as commissioned officers 
twenty-live years at the date of their retirement, and those officers who had lost 
an arm or a leg, or had an arm or a leg permanently disabled by reason of resec- 
tion on account of wounds, or both eyes by reason of wounds received in battle. 
Officers retired on the rank held by them at the time of retirement were also 
excepted from the operation of the act. The effect of these exceptions was to 
reduce the large number of those who would have otherwise lost rank to sixteen 
at the present time. Among this small number, however, are several quite as 



21 

effectually and permanently disabled as are those who come within the excep- 
tions of the act. The case of Lieut.-Col. John Pulford, referred to your commit- 
tee with Ex. Doc. No. 98, is one of these. This officer entered the service as first 
lieutenant of Company A, Fifth Michigan Infantry, remained in service to the 
end of the war, and rose to the command of a brigade, with the rank of brigadier- 
general by brevet. He received six wounds, one as captain of a company, four 
as commander of a regiment, and one while commanding a brigade. Two of the 
severest are thus described in the report of the retiring board : First, " a wound 
from a spent six-pound round-shot, which fractured the temporal bone of the skull, 
broke his collar-bone and lower jaw, causing epileptic convulsions, which wound 
was received at the battle of Malvern Hill, Virginia, July 1, 1862." Second, " a 
wound from a minie-ball, which entered the right side of the neck, and, passing 
backward and downward, carried away the spinal process of one of the upper 
dorsal vertebra, and has left the spinal cord imperfectly protected, and which 
last-mentioned wound was received at the battle of the Wilderness, Virginia, 
May 5, 1864, while he was lieutenant-colonel of the Fifth Regiment Michigan 
Veteran Volunteer Infantry, and in actual command of said regiment." 

Dr. D. O. Farrand, one of the most eminent surgeons of Detroit, Michigan, 
in an affidavit dated July 12, 1875, also describes the disabling effects of the 
wounds. He testifies that "he is personally acquainted with, and has carefully 
examined, the said Col. John Pulford, and finds that his arms are permanently 
disabled by reason of a gun-shot wound received in battle, the ball having entered 
the right side of the neck, passing backward, downward and outward, carrying 
away a portion of the first and second dorsal vertebra. The wound has healed, 
but has left the spinal cord covered only by the integuments for the space of nearly 
one inch, the arms being permanently disabled by reason of the injury done to 
the brachial plexus." 

This gallant officer was, upon a favorable report of the retiring board, 
retired with the full rank of colonel December 15, 1870. He was reduced to the 
rank of a lieutenant-colonel by the operation of the so-called "Crawford Act,'' 
approved March 3, 1875, and his case not falling technically (though Colonel 
Pulford is clearly among the most completely disabled officers of the retired list) 
within the exceptions of that law, he remains under the mortification and 
injustice of degradation from a rank fairly won by conspicuous gallantry, a 
steady fidelity to duty, and by a permanent disability from wounds of the 
severest and most painful character. 

Your committee, therefore, believing that this officer should be restored to 
his original retired rank, as a case falling within the spirit, if not the letter, of 
the so-called Crawford act, report the accompanying bill for his relief. 



44th Congress, ) H. R. 3483. j Report 

1st Session. ( I NO. 504. 



IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 

May 20, 1876. 

Read twice, committed to a Committee of the Whole House, and 
ordered to be printed. 



Mr. Alpheus S. Williams, from the Committee on Military Affairs, 
1 >y unanimous consent, reported the following bill : 

A BILL 

To restore John Pulford, Lieutenant-Colonel United States Army, 
(retired,) to his former rank on the retired list. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 

2 of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 That the President be, and he is hereby, authorized and em- 

4 powered to restore John Pulford, now lieutenant-colonel 

5 (retired) in the United States Army, to his former rank of 

6 colonel (retired) in the United States Army. 



44th Congress, ) SENATE. f Report 

2d Session. \ 



{ Report 
I No. 682. 



IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. 



February 21, 1877.— Ordered to be printed. 



Mr. Cockrell submitted the following 
REPORT: 

To accompany bill H. R. 3483. 

The Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was referred the bill 
(H. R. No. 3483J to restore John Pulford, lieutenant-colonel 
United States Army, (retired,) to his . former rank on the 
retired list, with the accompanying papers, have duly consid- 
ered the same, and submit the following report : 

This bill is intended to restore John Pulford to the rank held 
by him in the United States Army prior to the operation of the acl 
of Congress entitled "An act for the relief of General Samuel 
Crawford, and to fix the rank and pay of the retired officers of the 
Army." 

The application of Pulford for relief comes through the regu- 
lar military channels. 

Your committee addressed a letter of inquiry to the Secretary 
of War, and through him received the following reply from the 
Adjutant-General, to wit : 

Adjutant-Generai,'s Office. ) 
January 21), IS??. ) 

Sir: Referring to the request of the Senate Military Committee, dated the 
24th instant, for copy of the proceedings of the retiringlboard, &c., in the ease of 
Lieut.-Col. John Pulford, retired, I have the honor to submit the following report 
from the records, touching the military services and retirement of the officer 
named : 

John Pulford entered the service as first lieutenant Fifth Michigan Volun- 
teers, August 28, 1861, and was promoted in that regimenl captain, May 15, 1862; 
major, January 1, 1863; lieutenant colonel, May 3, 1S63; and colonel, July 12, 



24 

1864. He was mustered out as colonel July 5, 1865. He was brevetted brigadier 
general of volunteers March 13, 1865, for good conduct and meritorious services 
during the war. He was appointed second lieutenant Nineteenth United States 
Infantry, February 23, 1866, and promoted first lieutenant same date ; was trans- 
ferred to the Twenty-third Infantry, September 21, 1866, and left unassigned in 
the consolidation of the Army in May, 1869. In March, 1869, he applied for 
retirement, in consequence of wounds received at the battle of Malvern Hi)^ 
July 1, 1862, and the battle of the Wilderness, May 5, 1864. He was ordered 
before the retiring-board, in New York City, in November, 1870, and, in accord- 
ance with the finding of the board, was retired December 15, 1870, on the full 
rank and pay of Colonel, under section 32 of the act of July 28, 1866. 

A copy of extract from the proceedings of the retiring-board, embracing the 
testimony of the medical officers and the finding of the board, is annexed hereto. 
The nature of the disabling wounds, time received, and the rank and command 
held by Lieutenant-Colonel Pulford on both occasions, are set forth in the finding 
of the board. The records of the Fifth Michigan Volunteers show that, in addi- 
tion to the severe wounds for which he was retired, Lieutenant-Colonel Pulford 
was also wounded at Gettysburg, Pa., July, 1863: "Contusion of thigh, severe; 
right hand, slight." 

His retirement with the rank of Colonel was in consequence of his receiving 
a disabling wound May 5, 1864, when in command of a regiment ; and under the 
operation of section 2 of the act of March 3, 1875, he was reduced to the rank of 
lieutenant-colonel, which was the actual rank he held in the volunteers on the 
date named. Very respectfully,. your obedient servant, 

THOMAS M. VINCENT, 
The Hon. Secretary of War. Assistant Adjutant- General. 

The papers accompanying the foregoing letters, and therein 
referred to, are as follows, to- wit: 

Proceedings of the Army Retiring Board, convened at the Army buildings, in the city of 

New York. 

* * * * * * 

New York City, November 21, 1870 — 11 o'clock, a. m. 

The retiring board met * * * pursuant to adjournment. 

* * * * * * 

The board, having concluded some other business, then proceeded to carefully 
investigate and determine the facts as to the nature and occasion of any disability 
to perform active military service, and the duties of his office, of First Lieut. 
John Pulford, United States Infantry, unassigned, who thereupon came before 
the board. 

* * * * * * 

Surgeon John Moore, of the board, was then duly sworn as a witness, and 
testified as follows : 

Question by the board— Please give an account of your physical examination 
of Lieutenant Pulford. 

Answer — I have, with Lieutenant-Colonel Sutherland, examined this officer, 
and we find as follows : 

Surgeon Moore then read to the board, as his answer, the joint report which 
is hereto appended as part of these proceedings, and marked as Exhibit I. 

Question by the board— To which of the two wounds is the incapacity due ? 



25 

Answer— I think either injury would have disqualified him for service. The 
convulsions appear to have followed on the first injury which fractured the skull. 

Question by the board— From the effects of which wound does he now suffer 
the most? 

Answer— He probably suffers the most from the rifle-shot, passing through 
the neck and damaging the protection of the spinal cord. 

* # * •» * * 

Assistant Medical Purveyor Charles Sutherland, of the board, was then duly 
sworn as a witness in this case, and testified as follows: 

Question by the boai-d — Do you or not concur in the answers just made by 
Surgeon Moore, and if not, wherein not ? 

Answer — 1 concur. 

* * * * * ■* 

The board was then cleared, " and after careful investigation and mature 
deliberation, reports as its judgment that First Lieutenant John Pulford, U. S. 
Infantry, unassigned, is incapacitated for active service, and that said incapacity 
is due to wounds received in battle, namely: 

"First, to a wound from a spent six-pound round-shot, which fractured the 
temporal bone of the skull, and broke his collar bone and lower jaw, causing 
epileptic convulsions ; which wound was received at the battle of Malvern Hill 
Virginia, July 1, 1802, whilst a captain of the Fifth Regiment Michigan Volunteer 
Infantry, and in command of Company A of that regiment; and, second, to a 
wound from a miuie-ball, which entered the right side of the neck, and passing 
backward and downward carried away the spinal process of one of the upper 
dorsal vertebra?, and has left the spinal cord imperfectly protected ; and which 
last-mentioned wound was received at the battle of the Wilderness, Virginia, 
May 5, 1864, whilst he was lieutenant-colonel of the Fifth Regiment Michigan 
Veteran Volunteer Infantry, and, at the time, in actual command of said regi- 
ment, and that he is entitled to the benefits of the thirty-second section of the 
act of Congress approved July 28, 1866." 

irvin Mcdowell, 

Brevet Major- General, President. 

ASA BIRD GARDNER. 

First Lieutenant First United States Artillery, Recorder. 



Exhibit I. 



Nkw York, November 21, 1870. 
On examination of First Lieutenant John Pulford, United States Army, un- 
asssigned, we find the cicatrix of a miuie-ball, which entered on the right side of 
the neck, and, passing backward and a little downward, came out through the 
spine, carrying away the spina! process of one of the upper dorsal vertebras, and 
leaving the spinal cord so imperfectly protected that a slight pressure of the 
linger at this point causes a feeling of sickness of the stomach and vertigo. 

He was also struck, as we learu from written testimony in his possession, by 
a six-pound, spent, round-shot, at Malvern Hill, which broke his collar bom and 
fractured the temporal bone of the skull and broke the lower jaw. 

Since receiving these injuries he has had three or four attacks of i pileptic. 



26 
convulsions, and is conscious of a loss of memory, which he says is increasing. 
His disability is permanent, and, in our opinion, he will never be able to perform 
military duty. C. SUTHERLAND, 

Assistant Medical Purveyor, U. S. A. 
JNO. MOORE, 
Surgeon U. S. A. 

Your Committee addressed the following letter to the Surgeon- 
General of the Army, to wit : 

United States Senate Chamber, 
// 'ashington, February 5, 1877. 

Sir: On behalf of the Military Committee of the Senate, I have the honor to 
submit a copy of the proceedings and findings of the retiring-board of the United 
Stalls Army, in the case of Lieut.-Col. John Pulford, United States Army, re- 
tired, for whose relief a bill is now pending before this committee, and to ask if, in 
your opinion, the wound described in said record is more severe, dangerous, and 
disabling, and more fully incapacitates and disqualifies him from any service or 
business, than if he had simply suffered the loss or resection of a limb. Please 
give as early a reply as possible. 

Yours respectfully, DANIEL SHEPARD, 

Gen. J. K. BARNES, Clerk Military Affairs, United States Senate. 

Surgeon-General United States Army. 

To which they received the following reply, viz : 

Surgeon-General's Office, February 9, 1877. 
Respectfully returned, with opinion that the wounds described in the record 
are more severe, dangerous, and disabling, and more fully incapacitate and dis. 
qualify for any service or business, thau would the loss or resection of a limb. 

J. K. BARNES, 

Surgeon-General. 

Section 32, act of July 28, 18G6 (see vol. 14, U. S. Statutes 
at Large, page 337), entitled "An act to increase and fix the mili- 
tary peace establishment of the United States," provides — 

That officers of the Regular Army entitled to be retired on account of dis- 
ability occasioned by wounds received in battle, may be retired upon the full 
rank ot the command held by them, whether in the regular or volunteer service, 
at the time such wounds were received. 

Colonel Pulford was a lieutenant-colonel of volunteers, and 
in full command of his regiment when disabled by wounds 
received in battle, and under the above section was retired Decem- 
ber 15, 1870, upon the full rank of his command — colonel 

Section 2 of the act of March 3, 1875, entitled "An act for 
the relief of General Samuel W. Crawford, and to lix the rank 
and pay of retired officers of the Army," (see vol. 18, U. S. 
Statutes at Large, page 512,) provides — 



27 
That all officers of the army who have been heretofore retired by reason of 
disability arising from wounds received in action shall be considered as retired 
upon the actual rank held by them, whether in the regular or volunteer service, 
at the time when such wound was received, and shall be borne on the retired list 
and receive pay hereafter accordingly; and this section shall be taken and con- 
strued to include those now borne on the retired list, placed upon it on account 
of wounds received in action; Provided, That no part of the foregoing act shall 
apply to those officers who had been in service as commissioned officers twenty- 
five years at the date of their retirement, nor to those retired officers who had lost 
an arm or a leg, or had an arm or leg permanently disabled by reason of resection 
on account of wounds, or both eyes, by reason of wounds received in battle. 

Under this law, Pulford was reduced in bis rank on the 
retired list to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and his actual rank 
at the time when he received his wounds in battle. He now seeks 
to be restored to the rank of colonel, upon which rauk he was 
retired, and bases his claim to this right upon the grounds that 
his wounds, received in battle while commanding his regiment, 
are severer, more dangerous, and more disabling, and more fully 
incapacitate and disqualify him for any service or business, than 
if he had simply lost an arm or leg, or had an arm or leg perma- 
nently disabled by reason of resection on account of wounds 
received in battle. 

Your committee find that these grounds are true, aud that 
his wounds are of the character and effect claimed. 

Under the proviso in the foregoing act of March 3, 187."), 
those officers who had lost an arm or leg, or had an arm or leg 
permanently disabled, by reason of resection, were continued 
upon the retired list with the full rank of their command held at 
the time when their wounds were received. 

The act of July 28, 1SGG, referred to, retired all officers upon 
the full rank of their command, not upon their actual rank. The 
act of March 3, 1875, reduced the rank of all retired officers from 
the rank of their command to the actual rank held when wounded, 
saving and excepting those officers who had lost an arm or leg, or 
had an arm or leg permanently disabled by resection ; showing 
clearly that Congress considered that the act of July 28, 18Gb', 
was just and wise in its provisions for these excepted officers. 

Your committee adhere to the wisdom and propriety of the 
act of March 3, 1875, and its exceptions; ami finding that Colonel 
Pulford's injuries, received in battle, are more severe, dangerous, 
and disabling, and more fully incapacitate and disqualify him for 



28 
any service or business than would have been the loss of a leg or 
arm, or the permanent disability of an arm or leg by resection, 
your committee believe that his case is fully within the spirit and 
intention of the proviso of the act of March 3, 1875, and that he, 
too, equally with those who have lost an arm or leg, or had an 
arm or leg permanently disabled by resection, is entitled to be 
continued on the retired list with the full rank of colonel of 
infantry, the rank of his command when wounded. Your com- 
mittee expressly adhere to the continuance of the act of March 3, 
1875, and consider Pulford's case an extreme and exceptional case, 
fully embraced in the spirit and object of the proviso of said 
act, and recommend the passage of the accompanying bill as a 
substitute for said House bill. 



Mt S n <; Zr ss 'i H. R. 3483. 



| Report No ft _' | 



IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES, 

July 3, 1876. 

Read twice and referred to Committee ou Military A Hairs. 
February 21, 1877. 

Reported by Mr. Cock hell, with an amendment, viz.: Strike out all 
after the enacting clause, and insert the part printed in italics. 

AN ACT, 

To restore John Pulfokd, Lieutenant-Colonel United States Army, 
(retired,) to his former rank on the retired list. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives 

2 of the United, States of America in Congress assembled, 

2 That the President be-^aad he -is 4iereby authorized and em- 

4 pow ered to restore John Pulford, now lieutenant-colonel (re- 
ft tir°d) in t^ Q TTni^l States Army f to 4ii*-foFmer ra n k of co k 
fy r.r.pl (vpt.irpfl) in t.hfl United. S t a tes Army . 

3 That John Pulford, who ivas, on December fifta nth, < ight< < n 

4 hundred and seventy, duly retired from the udicr service and 

5 placed upon tlie list of retired officers of the United S 
G Army, with the full rank of colonel, on account of wo\ 

7 received in battle while performing the duties of colonel in 

8 command of his regiment, be, end hereby is, excepted and 

9 relieved from the operation of the act of Congress entitled 
10 "An act for the relief of (•< m ral Samuel W. Crawford^ and 



30 

11 to fix the rank and pay of retired officers of the Army" ap- 

12 proved March third, eighteen hundred and seventy-five, solely 
L3 because the injuries received by him in battle are more severe, 

14 dangerous, and disabling, and more fully incapacitate and 

15 disqualify him for any service, than the loss of an arm or leg, 

16 or the permanent disability of an arm or leg by resection, and 

17 is hereby restored upon the list of retired officers of the Army 

18 to the full rank of colonel, held by him from the date of his 

19 retirement up to March third, eighteen hundred and seventy- 

20 five, with the pay of such rank from the date of the passage of 

21 this act, and shall hereafter hold and receive the rank and pay 

22 of colonel upon the list of retired officers of the Army. 

Passed the House of Representatives June 30, 1876. 
Attest : GEO. M. ADAMS, Clerk. 



The above bill, as amended, passed the Senate on the 4th of 
March, 1876. But it did not become a law, as in the hurry of 
closing business of the XLIV Congress, it was not again reached 
by the House of Representatives to act on the Senate amend- 
ment. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



013 704 980 6 



